Several types of tumors can form in the liver.
The most common type of liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma, which begins in hepatocytes, the main type of liver cells.
Other types of liver cancer, such as intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and hepatoblastoma, are much less common.
Cancer that initially develops in another area of the body-such as the colon, lung, or breast-and then spreads to the liver is called metastatic cancer rather than liver cancer and is named after the organ in which it started-such as metastatic colon cancer to describe cancer that starts in the colon and spreads to the liver.
Cancer that spreads to the liver is more common than cancer that starts in liver cells.
